Page 26 of The Moment He Saw Her

“Aw, come on, that was a penalty all day!” Ryder bellowed in outrage.

“It was only a minor penalty,” Libby said.

“You’re kidding me, right?” He glared at her.

“Not at all. It was a minor altercation, and both should receive minor penalties,” Libby added.

“I call BS.”

She ignored his words and continued to watch. In fact, her eyes never moved as she took small, concise bites of her meal until it was finished.

“The Rangers or the Warriors?” Ryder asked at the end of the second period.

“Pardon?” She shot him a look.

“Which team do you support?”

She didn’t want to answer, and his guess was because it would give something away. He just wasn’t sure what.

“I like ice hockey” was all she said.

“And I repeat, Rangers or Warriors?”

“Warriors,” she said softly.

“I’m not sure I can let you stay here now,” Ryder said seriously. Her eyes shot to his. “That was a joke, Libby.”

She nodded.

“Apple pie in the kitchen, if you want it?”

“No, this was lovely. Thank you again.” She fell silent, looking at her empty plate. “I shouldn’t be here, Ryder?—”

“I’ve said it’s okay, so relax.”

“I’m not sure I can.”

Chapter8

“You could start by making coffee. See if you can get that machine in my kitchen working. It’s a lot smaller than the one in the cafe.”

“Okay.” Her eyes didn’t meet his when she rose.

The announcer said, “And now a word from one of our sponsors,” and if he hadn’t been watching her, Ryder would not have seen her flinch. Her eyes were now locked on the screen.

“I’ll make coffee,” she said abruptly and then disappeared into the kitchen.

Ryder looked at the screen. It was an ad for candy.

“How do you take it, Ryder?” Libby said, coming back into the room. Unlike his family, she didn’t just yell from the kitchen.

“Cream and two sugars,” he said as the next ad came on the screen.

When she’d left again, he ran through what he already knew about Libby Gulliver, which, if he was honest, wasn’t much. First off, there was a wedding dress in her trunk, which suggested she was running from her own wedding. Second, she didn’t like asking for help, which told him she was stubborn to the point of stupidity or not used to having people in her corner to ask. Third, she was an accountant—that had been a surprise.

“Cookies in the barrel to the left of the coffee maker!” Ryder called.

She reappeared with a tray he hadn’t known was in his kitchen and likely had been put in there by one of the women in his life. On it were two mugs of coffee and a small plate with four biscuits on it.

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